Maha: Collector orders culling of birds in Kendrewadi, Sukni

The administration in Maharashtra's Latur district has ordered culling of birds in the villages of Kendrewadi and Sukni after samples collected from these areas were found positive for bird flu, an official said on Tuesday.

Latur district collector Pruthviraj BP has ordered culling of birds in 1 km radius from where birds infected with avian influenza were found in Kendrewadi and Sukni, the official said.

At least 225 birds have died in Kendrewadi till Monday, while 12 hens have died in Sukni and four inWanjarwadi of Udgir taluka.

Samples of dead birds from Kendrawadi and Sukni were sent for testing and their results came out positive for the infection, he said, adding that reports for Wanjarwadi are awaited.

''Kendrewadi has witnessed deaths of 225 birds till January 11. We have completed fitness tests of our work force and will leave for Kendrewadi for the culling operation,'' an official from the animal husbandry department said.

There are nearly 15,000 birds in the 1 km radius of the place where the infected birds were found in Kendrewadi, the official said.

On January 10, the Latur district administration had ordered the creation of an ''alert zone'' in a 10-km radius around Kendrewadi in Ahmedpur tehsil.

According to officials, after Parbhani and Beed, Laturis the third district in Maharashtra to report cases of birdflu.